Explainer: what Islam actually says about domestic violence

Domestic violence is not specific to a particular religious group; Australian statistics indicate that one in six women experience physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner in their lifetime.

Despite this, several recent media reports have sensationalised domestic violence within the Muslim community, and often falsely linked it to Verse 4:34 in the Qur’an.

This misunderstanding has not only been perpetuated within the Australian community, it is also widely misunderstood in the Muslim community.